Lawmakers Reject Wildcat Arena's $65 Million Request in the Face of Final Four Run

Lawmakers Reject Wildcat Arena's $65 Million Request in the Face of Final Four Run

LEXINGTON, KY – Count Kentucky’s state legislators as one group not suffering from March Madness.

Last week the Herald-Leader reported that Sen. Mitch McConnell’s campaign was “horrified” after accidentally running footage of Duke celebrating a national title. The newspaper edition on campus as the players left for the Final Four included more political-related sports news. The top of the front page (see photo above) featured one article on Kentucky being just two wins from a ninth national title while the story next to it reported that legislators facing election next month had nonetheless allocated just $1.5 million of the $65 million sought for arena renovations.

Even in an age dominated by digital news outlets such as www.breitbart.com, there is something about arriving in a locality and picking up an actual printed version of a newspaper. The mayor here had pushed hard for $65 million in this year’s state budget to keep the project “on pace,” but lawmakers responded with $1.5 million instead. However, they did leave the door open to another $65 million next year (after the elections are over).

The final decision was made just hours after Kentucky claimed a surprise spot in the Final Four. The primary election date for McConnell and Kentucky legislators is May 20. A random sample of Kentucky students never brought the rejected allocation up in discussions with Breitbart Sports on campus Tuesday.

The Kentucky Wildcats are wildly popular. Welfare for sports arenas are wildly unpopular. 

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